


Descension

by directium



Series: Daniel's Descension [1]
Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Daniel is still awful and regrets nothing, Fluff, Friendship, Mentions of Murder, Mentions of Violence, Redemption, Stargazing, but only slightly - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-27
Updated: 2017-07-27
Packaged: 2018-12-07 11:58:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11623050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/directium/pseuds/directium
Summary: After his previous attempt to wipe out the campers, the shattering of his religious beliefs, and a painful recovery in the hospital, Daniel is sentenced to house arrest at Camp Campbell. Or, as he slowly begins to believe, Hell itself.But maybe within the depths of Hell, Daniel can find a friend. A friend with a fishbowl helmet and a unique look on the stars above.





	Descension

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to expand on the AU in Exception and write out an entire oneshot centered around it. Or at least, the point of the AU where Daniel and Space Kid form an unlikely friendship. Don't worry, no sads here. Only friendships and Daniel being the usual dumpster fire he is.
> 
> Also I absolutely got some inspiration from this lovely piece of fanart for the AU: https://campcampman.tumblr.com/post/163187514152/was-talking-to-directium-about-their-daniel

It was so quiet.

Being a cultist (how he loathed using that particular word to describe himself, but if the shoe fits), he was used to long periods of quiet during his travels. The only time he really interacted with people was while he helped them reach ascension (the word that once felt so sweet on his tongue now left a bitter, hollow taste in its wake), and they always fell silent after the process was eventually completed.

Well, almost always.

Daniel's frown lowered as he let his gaze shift to the empty bed just a few feet away from his, its owner still at the Mess Hall as he finished up his remaining counseling assignments for the day. Or perhaps David was simply avoiding him altogether. Daniel wouldn't have been surprised in the slightest if the latter had been the case. 

While David had welcomed him back with a wide smile and open arms, he had made it very clear (in a surprisingly forceful way that Daniel hadn't expected him to be capable of) that if he so much as _thought_ about harming a single hair on any of the campers' heads during his time at the camp, there would be dire consequences. A threat that Gwen had also backed up with a show of her fists and a statement that she had 'already dealt with one cultist's bullshit this week (thank _God_ he hadn't been sentenced to stay here while demon-ditzy Jen was still teaching her own practices or else he would have _never_ lived his mistakes down) and she was not about to deal with more.'

Of course David's wide smile and open arms had returned after such threats (Gwen, not so much), but Daniel had a feeling that David was not as willing to associate with him as he had been during his first visit. Or perhaps David really _was_ so obsessed with his job that he was willing to lose a few hours of sleep if it meant keeping on top of things.

Not that he cared one way or another about David's feelings towards him. David was a pathetic, annoying, foolish excuse of a man, one who had clearly mastered the art of repressing his self-esteem issues with a smile and a positive attitude. And while it would be fun to poke and prod at David about said issues, Daniel knew that David might have the upper hand when it came to which of the two of them was currently more pathetic.

Daniel made a face as his left leg brushed against the ankle bracelet on his right while he rolled onto his back. House arrest at the last camp he had nearly purified. If Xemug were real, Daniel had a feeling that not even _He_ would condemn someone to such a cruel fate.

If He were real...

Daniel sighed heavily, his gaze locked on the ceiling. Being legally dead for an entire minute after ingesting far too much rat poison than any human should consume (which...in retrospect isn't really all that much to begin with) had been more than enough time to give him a glimpse into what waited for him after his time on Earth finally came to an end. And while he could not remember _exactly_ what it was that he experienced during that one minute of death, he remembered enough to know that he'd been wrong about a lot of things regarding his beliefs and religious practices. 

Xemug? The Galactic Confederacy? The Ancient Ones?

False hopes. Fallacies.

 _Lies._

The shock had definitely taken its toll on him. Nearly everything he had dedicated his life to, all his beliefs... Snuffed out like a candle's flame against a gust of truth as he finally came to in that clean, white hospital bed (oh, what cruel irony) surrounded by doctors and police, already weak enough from the after effects of the poison.

And while his body seemed to recover fine, his emotional state only grew worse with each passing day.

He...had nothing. No religion to fall back on, no life purpose...

Only cold, hard facts that not even his feelings could beat.

He had nothing. He _was_ nothing.

Needless to say, his recovery was far from relaxing. And it only grew worse when he'd been informed of his sentence following the visit; house arrest at the last camp he had tried to 'purge'. To say that he had been...displeased with this sentence had been the understatement of the century.

Most people in his situation would have probably felt some sort of guilt by the time he had been forced into a police car and driven back along that old forest road towards the camp. They would have felt sorry for the lives they had taken in their desire to appease their gods, or felt the need to apologize to the still-living people they had wronged. Maybe the desire to try and form new relationships with them, in the hopes they could receive a second chance.

He felt no such things.

He had no remorse for killing the children at his previous camps, nor for the unfortunately still-alive brats that had greeted his return to Camp Campbell with angry scowls and a certain rude hand gesture ("Welcome to Hell, _Cult Man._ " had been the included quip from Max). Perhaps he had some regrets over the fact that he had done it in the name of a God that didn't exist (even he had a hard time trusting his feelings over facts now), but the deaths themselves did little to affect his feelings. If anything, his desire to watch children die in the slowest and most painful manners possible had only grown stronger during his stay at Camp Campbell.

The campers had clearly not forgiven him for his previous attempts to sacrifice them, and took every opportunity to remind him of that fact. So many times he had found himself face down in the dirt as Nikki hogtied his arms and legs together with a victorious warrior cry, and he was positive he would have some permanent bruises from the number of pine cones that Max had gleefully slingshot-ed at his head.

No, his desire to kill every last one of the little bastards had not faded in the slightest.

So many opportunities to let an 'accident' happen, so many chances to turn a blind eye while Ered tried to skateboard off the roof of the mess hall or while Harrison got a little too carried away with his fire spells. But such opportunities were always foiled by a panicking David or scolding Gwen, or the knowledge that he would be the prime suspect if anything bad actually happened to one of the campers. Hell, David had given him an earful when he happened to accidentally (the rare time it had actually been an accident) glance from the back of Max's head towards the container of plastic (yet still very effective in causing injury if one knew how to use them properly) knives on the mess hall counter.

And as much as he hated being confined to the campgrounds, he was in no hurry to be dragged off to prison either. The camp was awful, but he was sure he had the slightest bit more freedom here than behind the bars of a cell. Not to mention he'd take the ugly-but-still-loosely-fitting counselor's outfit over an uncomfortable, restricting, orange jumpsuit any day.

So all he could do was lie there, eyes still on the ceiling and the cabin still so agonizingly quiet, with only his thoughts to focus on. Angry, bitter thoughts without anything to fall back on for comfort. His gods were false, his dignity had long since been shattered, and a list of repercussions too long to measure kept him from storming over to the tent area and choking the life out of the first child he could get his hands on.

...Maybe Max had been onto something with that rude little quip of his upon Daniel's return.

Maybe...this was Hell.

Maybe Daniel hadn't actually been revived after the Kool-Aid incident. Maybe, while a lot of his previous beliefs had been false, the one thing he _could_ believe was that Hell was real, and it existed in the form of a rundown summer camp. Fire and brimstone were replaced with the hot, summer sun that bore down on the campers as they went about their days. The demons that inhabited the area were the campers themselves and his ankle bracelet was the ball and chain that kept him trapped there for a summer that seemed to drag on for an eternity. Perhaps it _would_ drag on for eternity.

He sighed and sat upright. Well, if he truly was in Hell, then sleep was not going to come easily. 

He slid his legs out from beneath the blanket and let his feet touch the hardwood floor. After fumbling around for the pair of boots that David had lent him (curse these ridiculous counselor clothes), he made his way for the cabin door and stepped out into the warm, summer evening.

It was a little less quiet outside the cabin, with the gentle ambiance of the surrounding woods noticeable enough to momentarily distract him from his thoughts. Only momentarily. 

He began to walk, with little care as to where he was going. He'd memorized the outline of the campgrounds by now, and had no plans (at least, none that he could get away with successfully) to go beyond them. He walked past the Mess Hall (and made a face as he spotted David inside, too busy with an indistinguishable project to notice him) and towards the shoreline that lay at the edge of the lake. Well, if he could give this hellhole _anything_ , it was that the lake looked...somewhat nice at night. Probably filthy and full of some kind of toxic chemicals, but at least the moonlight on the surface of the water was a relaxing sight.

He looked towards the end of the dock, and was surprised to see a small figure seated on the very edge. A small figure with a domed fishbowl over their head, which was tilted up towards the sky in wonder.

Of course it was Space Kid. The naive, little boy who had probably taken the least amount of convincing to purify. His head was so far up in the clouds that Daniel wouldn't have been surprised to see it floating among the stars he loved so much.

Daniel stepped onto the dock and began to approach him, the temptation to just push him into the water growing stronger with every step. It certainly wouldn't kill him (possibly, but Daniel couldn't stop himself from picturing the little fishbowl helmet filling up with water quick enough to drown its owner), and he was positive he'd never hear the end of it from David. But that couldn't stop him from just... _considering_ it a little bit-

"Hi, Daniel!"

He froze as Space Kid turned to face him. Well, so much for that hypothetical plan now that he'd actually been seen. "Hello...Space Kid."

"Did you come to watch the stars, too?" Space Kid asked, his little smile widening. "I heard there was going to be a meteor shower tonight!"

A meteor shower and David didn't think to use that as an opportunity to teach the campers some kind of absurd lesson about space? Either Space Kid was being his usual naive self, or Daniel now had something to pester David about later.

"I don't know exactly when it's supposed to start," Space Kid said, looking to the sky again. "So I'm just looking at all the constellations now. You can see more of them out here then in the city!"

...Usual naive self seemed the more likely option. Daniel shook his head and took a seat beside him on the edge of the dock. Perhaps that naivety would be more effective at drowning out his cumbersome and annoying thoughts than the sounds of the forest. "You really don't mind me joining you?"

"Of course not!" Space Kid said, swinging his little legs. "Space is always more fun with a buddy!"

A buddy? "You...aren't terrified of being out here alone with me?"

Space Kid tilted his head. "Why would I be?"

"...You're kidding, right?"

"Ooh, look, there's Mars!" Space Kid's gaze was already back on the sky, and his little finger pointed up at a small mass among the stars. "I wasn't sure if I'd see it tonight! It likes to hide sometimes. But it can't hide forever!"

Was he...avoiding answering the question? Or was he really that easily distracted by space? "You look at the stars a lot, don't you?"

"Whenever I can!" Space Kid said. "But like I said, in the city, there's not as many stars to see..."

Daniel wasn't sure if he should respond to that, or if Space Kid simply liked hearing himself speak. So he kept his mouth shut and looked towards the night sky. Much like the lake beneath the dock, it was quite the sight for sore eyes. Having spent a lot of his time travelling from camp to camp, he was no stranger to the vast and starry night sky of the wilderness, but it had been quite some time since he actually went out of his way to stop and stare at it.

It was...somewhat nice, if he had to be honest. A moment of peace during his time in Hell.

"Hey, look! There's Perseus! There's a really cool story behind him!" 

Space Kid's voice broke the silence as he pointed towards one particular constellation. "Is there now?" Daniel asked.

"Uh-huh!" Space Kid says, as the tip of his finger drifted to another nearby constellation. "See over there? That's Andromeda! The two of them loved each other a whole lot, but Andromeda's mom was going to sacrifice her to a sea monster! But Perseus was like 'no way!' and saved her! And now they can be together forever!"

Okay, now Daniel had _no_ idea if any of that was true, but he didn't know enough about the stars themselves to disprove the boy's theories. "That's an...interesting story."

"And over there's Cygnus!" Space Kid continued. "It's a swan! I'll bet it really doesn't like Leo, huh? You know, because... it's a lion? Like a cat? Cat and bird?"

Daniel raised an eyebrow. That joke...actually made more sense than he would have expected from Space Kid. And even if he didn't know how creditable the boy's knowledge regarding the constellations was, it was clear that he had still put a lot of time into learning about them. "You...know an awful lot about space, huh?"

That was a dumb question. Of _course_ he knew a lot about space. He was called _Space_ Kid for a reason-

"I love space!" Space Kid said excitedly. "There's so much to learn about it! You could spend your entire life studying it and still not know everything about it! Like, did you know that it rains diamonds on Neptune?"

"...Is that true?"

"It _might_ be!" Space Kid clapped his hands together. "Isn't that cool?!"

"Might be?" Daniel asked, raising an eyebrow. "But what if it's not? Won't you be disappointed?"

Space Kid shrugged. "I mean, it's still a cool idea. Even if it's not real."

Even...if...

He was _that_ excited over something that may or may not be true? He wasn't worried about the possibility of learning that it might _not_ actually be true, leaving him with nothing but disappointment? 

He...wasn't worried about facts destroying the things he held dear?

"Ooh, look, there they are!"

Once again, Space Kid pointed to the sky in an excited manner and Daniel looked towards the sky as well. Sure enough, a sudden flurry of meteors began to dash across the stars, shining brightly for a moment before they fizzled out just as quickly as they appeared.

He could hear Space Kid let out a small noise of awe every few seconds as the meteor shower continued. "Daniel?"

"Yes?"

"Is all that stuff you said about space true?" Space Kid asked, his eyes wide. "You know, about negative energy?"

...He...actually remembered that? "I'm not so sure anymore, unfortunately," he said truthfully. "A lot of the things I used to believe in were...recently proven to be false. To say the least."

"Oh," Space Kid said, and stared up at the sky again. "I really like space. Even if there really is a lot of negative energy up there. I mean, it's really big, isn't it? Maybe because it's so big, there's a bunch of _good_ energy to help balance out all the bad?"

Daniel's expression melted into a look of surprise. "That...is an oddly insightful comment for an eight-year-old to make." 

"Thanks!" Space Kid said cheerfully. "My mom says I'm really smart for my age! Not a lot of people believe me when I say it, but that's okay! They'll be the ones laughing when I'm the first person on Saturn! Well, maybe not laughing, because it'll be so cool! Maybe they'll be cheering instead. I _hope_ they'll be cheering!"

Daniel continued to stare at him, his surprise melting into shock. He was so passionate about topics that he may or may not have been completely educated on, so eager to learn _more_ about said topics, so naive but...in a way that also seemed very wise, especially for a child his age. And he seemed to possess no fear for someone who had previously tried to poison him, even going so far as to hold a pleasant conversation with said person.

Daniel suddenly remembered that he hadn't gotten a proper explanation for that.

"So, may I ask you a question now?" Daniel asked.

"Uh-huh," Space Kid said, not taking his eyes off the sky.

"...Why _aren't_ you afraid of me?" Daniel asked. "I mean, surely you know what I tried to do the last time I was here, right? How I...well, you know, tried to kill everyone?"

"Yeah."

Oh, he... did know? "Okay, so...then why aren't you afraid of me?"

Once again, Space Kid tore his gaze from the meteors. "There's probably aliens out there who would try and kill people, and I'm not afraid of _them_ ," he said. "I'd just hope they'd at least let me see their spaceship before they killed me. That'd be a cool way to die!"

"But I'm not an alien," Daniel pointed out. "I'm a human being. Who tried to hurt you."

Space Kid shrugged. "Meteors can hurt the outside of a spaceship and I still like them."

"But that's..."

Daniel abruptly closed his mouth when words failed him. That...was really the reason that the boy wasn't afraid of him? Just because...something else he happened to like also might have the desire to kill or hurt? His reasoning was so flawed, so naive...

So...

Daniel racked his brain for a moment as he tried to think of the proper word to describe the little boy beside him, his eyes as bright as the stars above their heads. The little boy with so much love for them, despite not understanding everything about them. The little boy with little, if any at all, anger in his heart and unexplainable forgiveness towards those who had wronged him, even if they didn't necessarily deserve it.

The little boy whose feelings only grew stronger when he was presented with facts.

Once upon a time, Daniel had believed that feelings could beat facts, only to be brutally and painfully informed that facts were cruel. Facts were unforgiving, facts destroyed your beliefs and forced you to accept the fact that you had nothing. That you _were_ nothing.

Feelings could lift you up, while facts only dragged you downwards.

But Space Kid...

He seemed to have found a balance between facts and feelings. He found a sense of happiness in learning about the things he loved, and found even more happiness in seeking _more_ to learn. Even if the things he had learned turned out to contradict what he had previously known, even if the things were scary or threatening, he was still happy to have learned anything at all.

Admirable.

It was...admirable.

Eventually the meteor shower came to an end and the sky grew calm again. Another happy noise from Space Kid. "That was so cool! I was kinda hoping one of them would fall towards us, though. I wanted to take it home as a souvenir!"

"Well...maybe next time."

He had no idea why he said that. He had no idea why he said _anything_. But Space Kid's eyes seemed to widen at the comment. "You really think so?"

"...I guess?"

Space Kid beamed. "Maybe _two_ of them will fall towards us next time! One for me, one for you!"

"Unfortunately, I highly doubt that there will be another meteor shower before the end of the summer," Daniel said. "Not to mention I had no idea where the authorities plan on sending me once the camp closes. Perhaps they'll change their minds about placing me behind bars."

"I could mail you one of the space rocks, then!" Space Kid said. "I mean, if I find them, that is. Or maybe, if I find only one, we could mail it back and forth to each other! Like we're sharing it!"

"You...would really want to share something like that with me?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah!" Space Kid said. "So we can remember tonight!"

He felt his mouth curl into a smile. "...Well, then I guess we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed, huh?"

"What are you two doing out here?"

Daniel turned to see David at the end of the dock, a flashlight in hand. "It's nearly midnight. Space Kid, you should be sleeping! You know that a healthy sleep schedule is very important."

Daniel felt his smile disappear at the sight of the meddlesome counselor. "Now, now, David. He simply wanted to watch the meteor shower that was happening tonight," he said with a smirk. "The one I'm sure you didn't hear about, considering you had no specific activities planned around it."

David's own smile twitched a bit. "As a matter of fact, I _did_ know about it. However, as a _proper_ camp counselor, I realized that maintaining a healthy sleeping schedule is far more important than-"

"A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?" Daniel asked, his smile returning at the realization that he might have struck a nerve. "Such a shame. I'm sure the other campers would have _loved_ to see it. But now they can't. A chance to teach them a valuable lesson about space, lost forever."

And now _David's_ smile was gone. "It's bedtime. For _both_ of you."

"Oh, no need to sulk, David," Daniel said, and rose to his feet. "But I do think it's time to call it a night on the star gazing, Space Kid."

"Aww, okay," Space Kid said, and followed suit. "At least we got to see the meteor shower, right, Daniel?"

Daniel nodded. "It was...informative."

Space Kid smiled up at him. "Can we look at the stars again sometime?"

"I don't see why not," Daniel said. "But for now, you need to get to bed-"

His words died in his throat and a sudden chill ran up his spine as he felt a tiny, gloved hand slip into his. He looked down to see Space Kid beaming up at him, his smile the widest it had been all evening. He made no attempts to hide his 'deer in the headlights' look of absolute shock as he glanced back at David for assistance.

Of course the idiot was now smiling fondly at the sight. Of _course_. "Aww, Space Kid! Do you want Daniel to walk you back to your tent?"

Space Kid nodded. "I have something I want to give him!"

Even in the darkness, Daniel could see David's grin grow wider and wider as Space Kid lead him off the dock and towards the tent area. But for once, he found it...surprisingly easy to ignore the desire to knock every single one of David's teeth out of his head as he felt Space Kid pull him along, while that chilling sensation spread to the rest of his body.

Space Kid finally let go of his hand once they reached the tent and began around inside his bag as quietly as he could, so as not to wake the other two children in the tent. Finally, he let out a quiet noise of success and pulled out a small, book-shaped object. After quickly flipping through the pages for a moment, he peeled something out and held it up for Daniel to see.

"A...sticker?"

It was one of those silly fuzzy stickers, in the shape of a falling star. Space Kid was holding it with the very tips of his thumb and forefinger, likely so the sticky side would not be ruined. "Here! For you!"

"What-"

Before he could question where on Earth he was expected to put it, Space Kid leaned down and pressed it to the flat side of his ankle bracelet. "Is this okay? Since none of the meteors fell towards us, you can have this instead."

It was ridiculous, juvenile, childish. Everything Daniel usually despised about children. Everything that he once considered imperfections, things that made them worthy of nothing but being sacrificed to the Ancient Ones.

And yet...

"It's...sweet."

"You really like it?" Space Kid said, his eyes as wide as his smile. "I have more if you want-"

"No, that's alright," Daniel said quickly. "Besides, David did say it was time for you to sleep."

With a nod, Space Kid removed the little fishbowl helmet and climbed onto his assigned cot, asleep before his head could hit the pillow. Daniel remained still for a moment before he knelt down beside the bed, his gaze still locked on the sleeping boy as that chilling sensation from before returned in full force.

No, it...it wasn't chilling.

It was warm. Strange. Like nothing he'd felt before, especially not towards any children. The only thing he had ever felt towards children was the desire to snap their little necks. He even seemed to recall feeling that desire towards Space Kid at one point.

But now...now he wasn't so sure about that.

He knew still didn't like children. At all. But maybe... he didn't have to in order to like this one particular child.

This sweet little boy without any judgement or anger in his heart. A sweet little boy with dreams as vast as space itself, dreams he was probably visiting at that very moment. 

_Sweet_... That was another good word to describe Space Kid. He was sweet.

Sweet, admirable...

 _Pure_.

Daniel smiled at the thought. Perhaps Space Kid had been onto something about the amount of positive energy in space.

"Mmmm, what's going on?"

Daniel turned his attention to one of the other cots as Preston sat upright with a wide yawn. He let his gaze drift lazily towards where Daniel was kneeling, silent for a moment while he attempted to process the sight in his sleep-induced state. Suddenly, his eyes widened in horror and he nearly fell off the bed as he attempted to scoot as far away from Daniel as he could get. "Oh, God, have you finally snapped and decided that your sick desires to kill us all outweigh the desire not to be put in prison?!"

Daniel rolled his eyes and stood up again. "Not tonight, I'm afraid. Lucky for you, I was only here to tuck in Space Kid. So you can relax, go back to sleep and not have dreams of me slowly and painfully smothering you in your sleep. Good night!~"

He'd probably pay for that comment in the morning, along with his snark at the dock. But for now, it was the least of his worries as he exited the tent (he couldn't help but let out a laugh as he heard Preston wail in the tent behind him) and began to head back to the counselor's cabin, the ankle bracelet with the little fuzzy sticker on the side once again brushing his leg.

A reminder of their night of stargazing while also a reminder that he was trapped in Hell.

A warm, fuzzy feeling against a cold, hard fact.

Yeah, he liked the sound of that.

...Perhaps his stay in Hell wouldn't be so bad after all. And at least he'd have something to think about while deliberately ignoring the lecture that David was sure to give him about threatening campers.

He let out another laugh at the thought. David miserable? Now that would _definitely_ give him a warm, fuzzy feeling.

**Author's Note:**

> More info and context on the AU located here (though I feel like I pretty much covered everything): http://directium.tumblr.com/tagged/Daniel%27s+Descension+AU/chrono


End file.
